Cigana, a former pro cyclist turned triathlete, finished the race in 4:33:20, followed by Edo van der Meer (NED) finishing in 4:38:55 and Dimitry Grabovsky (ISR) in 4:41:39.

Cigana, 41, said the course was “very tough.” He smashed the bike event in 3 hours 10 minutes. Van der Meer, 31 commented at this finish, “no segment was tougher than the other.” After a strong swim of 23:54, Van Der Meer couldn’t keep up with Cigana on the bike, falling six minutes behind on the segment.

01/28/2015

The atmosphere was light-hearted and the mood relaxed at the Israman Negev press conference held this afternoon at the Eilat Royal Garden Hotel. Race organizers and professional athletes alike were confident in their preparation and training for the full- and- half ironman-distance triathlon to be held on January 30th in this resort community on the northern tip of the Red Sea. Arguably the most difficult long-distance triathlon on the planet, the athletes seemed well-trained for the “brutal” 10,000 feet of climbing and steep descent on the marathon course.

Race Director, Boaz Ribak, called the 2015 race the largest Israman to date with 1,400 registered participants. In addition to the half and full distances (226 and 113 kilometers, respectively), the event added an option for relay teams. Another breakthrough includes the number of registered female participants- 450 this year, greatly exceeding expectations.

07/20/2013

Hamburg, Germany (July 20, 2013) - Anne Haug gave her home crowd something to cheer about as she powered her way to victory in a thrilling World Tour Series race in Hamburg.

The WTS leader exited the swim 40 seconds behind the lead but worked her way through the field on the 20km bike and then broke away from the pack in the last kilometre of the 5km run to maintain her place at the top of the rankings. Haug finished in 57 minutes and 21 seconds, ahead of second-place Non Stanford (GBR) in 57:35, who was one second ahead of compatriot Jodie Stimpson in third.

Hamburg, Germany (July 20, 2013) - Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) produced a thrilling finish to pip brother Alistair Brownlee (GBR) to claim victory in the World Tour Series in Hamburg.I thought it was going to be Alistair's day - I thought I'd never beat him. He's gone into this pretty unprepared but I knew I had to give everything," Jonny said.

He was hanging on through the whole run. Alistair doesn't like to run behind people, he likes to run upfront. I got to the last bit and he got past me. I was pretty feeling comfortable. I was thinking the whole way round I couldn't remember if I was meant to finish on the right hand side or the left hand side but it was all good."

07/06/2013

Kitzbuehel, Austria (July 6, 2013) - Jodie Stimpson (GBR) followed compatriot Alistair Brownlee to win the grueling World Triathlon Series event in Kitzbuehel in one hour, three minutes and twenty two seconds, with it earning her first WTS title.

After finishing third in the last two WTS events (Yokohama and Madrid) and sitting third in the overall rankings, Stimpson made the step up to win the race billed as one the world's toughest triathlons. Stimpson finished ahead of Emma Jackson (AUS) in 1:04:21 and Anne Haug (GER) in 1:04:34.

Kitzbuehel, Austria (July 6, 2013) - Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee proved yet again why he is one of the greatest triathletes of all time with another breath-taking performance to win ITU World Triathlon Kitzbuehel.

Brownlee hadn't raced since winning in San Diego in April because of an ankle injury but blew away the field with an incredible display of endurance, winning in 55 minutes, 23 seconds on the new dynamic course that consisted of a 750m swim, followed by a 11.5km bike and a 2.5km run up the Kitzbuehel horn.

The highlight of Brownlee's performance was on that tough bike. After coming out of the water in eighth place, he hit the front of the pack as a short downhill section turned into a gruelling 867m climb. Initially Javier Gomez (ESP) broke away with Brownlee but couldn't keep up as Brownlee started pulling away, creating an astonishing 1km lead as the as the climb started to take its toll on the rest of the field.

06/08/2013

Madrid, Spain (7 June 2013) - The International Triathlon Union (ITU) today named Chicago as the host city for the 27th edition of the 2015 World Triathlon Grand Final. In preparation for the Grand Final, Chicago will also host a World Triathlon Series event in 2014.

We are thrilled to bring the championship final of our World Triathlon Series to Chicago, which has a strong history of hosting world class sporting events," ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado said. "USA Triathlon has also been active in organising several World Triathlon Series races in the last several years. We are confident their combined experience will produce an excellent World Championship event."

06/02/2013

Madrid, Spain (June 2, 2013) - Jonathan Brownlee's season might only be two races in, but the reigning ITU World Champion showed his title defence was back on track with another stunning performance in Madrid on Sunday.

After making a brilliant return from an ankle injury in Yokohama last month, Brownlee (GBR) was again in the lead from almost start to finish to win his second consecutive race in the 2013 ITU World Triathlon Series season. It was also his second consecutive win in Madrid as well as keeps the race title in the Brownlee family. Since the series started in 2009 only Jonathan and brother Alistair Brownlee have topped the podium in the Casa de Campo park.

Madrid, Spain (1 June 2013) - Non Stanford (GBR) stole the show under the hot Madrid sun with a blistering performance at the ITU World Championship Series on Saturday to claim her first WTS title.

After a solid swim saw her exit the water just outside the top ten, Stanford made her way through the field on the 40km bike and then never looked back in the 10km run as she hammered further and further ahead. She finished in two hours, four minutes and 39 seconds.

"The plan was to go off really hard in the run which I did," Non said. "And I'm not going to lie, in the second lap of the run I thought 'oh no, I've gone off far too hard'. But I managed to hold it together and I could see the gap increasing which gives you confidence and I managed to hold on. I'm not sure how but I'm absolutely pooped now."

Anne Haug (GER) completed a remarkable comeback after a slow swim to finish second in 2:05:05 and Jodie Stimpson (GBR) made it two podium places for Great Britain to claim bronze in a time of 2:05:14.

In the 1.5km swim, an initial breakaway group of three soon became five in what proved to be a fast time, with Carolina Routier (ESP) exiting the water in the lead in 18:56. Alongside Routier were Pamela Oliveira (BRA), Sarah Groff (USA), Alice Betto (ITA) and Nicky Samuels (NZL). It was an impressive swim from Samuels, knowing that her strength on the bike was yet to come.

DALLAS, Texas -- Greg Billington led the way for the U.S. on Saturday when he picked up his first International Triathlon Union win at the 2013 Dallas ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup.

Billington (Colorado Springs, Colo.) covered the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run course in 1 hour, 44 minutes, 49 seconds to take the tape, earning his first career ITU win and second ITU podium finish of the season. In a sweep for the U.S. men, William Huffman (Colleyville, Texas) was second in 1:45:30 and Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.) took third to round out the podium in 1:46:36.

In the women's race, Mexico's Claudia Rivas won by nearly a minute, posting a time of 1:56:11. Elite Triathlon Academy athletes Erin Jones (Hood River, Ore.) and Johanna Gartman (Chattanooga, Tenn.) finished in 1:57:09 and 1:57:42, respectively, to take second and third.

Saturday's race was also host of the USA Triathlon Under-23 National Championship, contested in conjunction with the ITU Pan American Cup. As the top U-23 athletes of the day, Huffman and Jones won national titles and met qualification criteria to represent the U.S. at the 2013 ITU Under-23 World Championships, set to take place in September.

05/27/2013

MAY 16 2013 - A thrilling finish and testing conditions made up the inaugural Challenge Rimini at the weekend which saw Chris McCormack (AUS) and Erika Csomor (HUN) take top honours.

High winds, strong currents and daunting surf met the athletes on race morning resulting in the swim course being moved and shortened to allow the race to continue.

Thomas Steiner (GER) led out of the water in 18:02, followed by a group of five, led by McCormack in 18:13 and from this stage, the race was neck and neck between McCormack, Daniel Fontana (ITA) who would take second and Alessandro Degasperi (ITA) in third.

AUSTIN, Texas -- U.S. paratriathletes posted phenomenal performances on Monday en route to national titles at the 2013 USA Paratriathlon National Championship, held in conjunction with the Life Time Fitness Tri CapTex.

championship titles as part of the largest field yet for a USA Paratriathlon National Championship. The 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run course, centered at Auditorium Shores at Lady Bird Lake, showcased the talent emerging in the paratriathlon community.

"It's my first time here, and what an excitement," said Krige Schabort (Cedartown, Ga.), who won the TRI-1 division. Schabort may be new to the championship event, but like many of the other competitors has an impressive resume. He is a two-time medalist at Paralympic Games marathons in 1992 and 2000 and is also the current Ironman world record holder in his division.

"I'm more of a long-distance guy," Schabort said, "But I really want to focus on this distance. It's better for my lifestyle and for my family."

05/19/2013

Huatulco, Mexico (May 19, 2013) - Before the temperatures really heated up in Huatulco, Brazil's Pamela Oliveira showed her strengths when she recorded her first ever World Cup win, leading from line to line on Sunday.

Austria's Lisa Perterer put the hammer down on the run, closing in significantly on Oliveira, but it wasn't quite enough as she took second for her highest World Cup finish ever. Ukraine's Yuliya Yelistratova posted an impressive final bike lap to bridge up, which put her in prime running position to earn her first World Cup finish since 2010.

Oliveira is no stranger to the course - she finished second here in 2012, which was just the advantage she needed to take control of the race.

From the start, the Brazilian Olympian distanced herself from the field, exiting the water first from the 1,500-meter swim with Gaia Peron (ITA) and Anne Tabarant (FRA) not far behind.

Huatulco, Mexico (May 19 2013) - Artem Parienko (RUS) threw down a monster run on Sunday in Huatulco to take a late lead in the run and win his first ITU World Cup.

"It's my first World Cup win, and it's a new experience for me. I'm very excited and happy," Parienko said. "The first two laps after the bike were not easy because of the size of the group. On the run I just gave everything I had and I won."

In a late surge, Parienko gunned for the leaders who were more than a minute ahead on the start of the run. But by the second run lap, the Russian had pulled even with Luciano Taccone (ARG), who had broken away on the bike behind France's Aurelien Raphael. Parienko smoked the final two laps for the win, followed closely by Taccone. While Raphael faded under the hot conditions, Mexico's own Irving Perez stormed ahead for bronze.

Raphael was at the helm from the start, driving the lead pack, who all entered T1 within 35 seconds of each other. The leaders then worked to build a distance over the chasers, which included some lone riders and small packs riding more than a minute back.

05/11/2013

Yokohama, Japan - Great Britain's Jonathan Brownlee started his season in a now familiar way in Japan, as he led from almost start to finish in an all-round perfect performance at ITU World Triathlon Yokohama.

Just last month Alistair Brownlee made his 2013 ITU debut in San Diego, and blew away the field there despite not being confident of his run form. In Yokohama it was a similar story, except Jonathan had the added complication that his layoff was because of an ankle injury. That made his performance even more impressive, as he showed no signs of weakness on the run, burning off Spain's Javier Gomez and Portugal's Joao Silva over 10km to record his fifth career series win in a time of 1 hour 44 minutes and 59 seconds.

Brownlee was emotional afterwards as he revealed that he thought his entire season would have to be ruled out because of that injury.

"At the start of the year I was told I wouldn't be racing at all this season, so I got a bit emotional towards the end because this year I thought I wouldn't be here at all," he said. "I thought the season was over two months ago."

Yokohama, Japan - If San Diego hinted at it, Yokohama has well and truly confirmed the USA's Gwen Jorgensen as the leading contender in 2013, as she took back to back ITU World Triathlon Series titles and the overall series lead in Japan on Saturday.

Conditions played a huge part with constant rain and cooler temperatures making for a treacherous race at times, with numerous crashes on the bike. But it was Jorgensen who reigned supreme, first running down Emma Moffatt (AUS) and Jodie Stimpson (GBR) and then simply flying off into the distance to win by 14 seconds in a time of 1 hour 57 minutes and 5 seconds.

Jorgensen initially stayed back after the first lap of the run, but pulled out another negative split 10km to pull back in the difference in the final lap and said it played out to her race plan.

"I wouldn't say it was a repeat of San Diego, there were different conditions out there today, a choppy swim and the rain on the bike, but it was an exciting race for sure," Jorgensen said. "I just started the run and to be honest I was a little worried those girls really took it out fast and I just tried to focus on my race. I just tried to maintain pace the whole way."